People: The latest West Midlands hires

Alantra, the global mid-market investment banking specialist, has boosted its team with the appointment of Alex Trevor as vice president and key member of its Midlands team.

Trevor has over ten years of experience in M&A and joins from Baird where he worked predominantly within the technology and services sectors advising business owners, management teams and financial investors across the deal size range.

He started his career at Hawkpoint and then went on to join Edmond de Rothschild. Notable transactions include advising Gen II on its $1.6bn investment from General Atlantic, Hg and IHS Markit; World of Books on its sale to Livingbrdge; and disguise on its sale to Carlyle European Technology Partners.

Also recently recruited to the Midlands team are analysts Hattie Lloyd and Andrew Smith.

Lloyd, who graduated from Birmingham University with a Masters in Chemistry, joins from EY where she gained her CA qualification.

Smith joins after spending three years at PwC; he graduated from Warwick University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance.

Richard Sanders, partner at Alantra and senior partner of the Midlands office, said: “We’re delighted to bring Alex onboard. His breadth of experience will strengthen the team’s expertise and capabilities. We’ve had a record year so far and have a strong pipeline for 2022. We are committed to attracting the highest quality talent to ensure we continue to support investors, entrepreneurs and management teams across the region achieve exceptional results.”

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Gurj Sandhu

Azets, the largest regional accountancy firm and business advisor to SMEs, with 14 offices across the Midlands, Shropshire, and Welsh Borders, has strengthened its tax practice in the region with three senior appointments.

Gurj Sandhu, Stuart Bentley and Jay Mistry have all joined Azets in specialist tax roles as the accounting firm continues to broaden and grow its expertise both in the region and nationally.

Clare Clifford, head of tax – Midlands, with Azets, said: “I’m thrilled to welcome Gurj, Stuart, and Jay into the Azets team. The rate of growth of our Midlands tax practice in the past year has reflected the urgent need for SMEs to take specialist advice and optimise their tax position against an extended period of economic uncertainty in the UK. This is apparent in our region and across the country – and our extended office network will benefit from these appointments and our enhanced specialist capability in tax allowances and R&D tax.

“It’s more important now than ever before for businesses to seek professional advice to fully understand the reliefs available to them and how they can prepare for confirmed and speculated tax changes in the next 12 months. The addition of Gurj, Stuart, and Jay will help our clients to plan and structure appropriately, providing certainty and stability despite challenging economic circumstances.”

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Specialist property debt collection firm Realty Law has expanded its Birmingham-based team with the appointment of eight staff.

The new hires are led by senior residential property litigator Liz Rowen, a former partner of law firm Keebles, that was recently acquired by Knights.

She is joined by former Knights colleagues, Evie Britton, Kirsty Elliott, Cherice St Louis, Abby France and Sam Cooper, as well as two new administration assistants.

Realty recently announced the appointment of experienced property litigator Darren Clegg to lead the commercial property debt collection practice and develop its extensive portfolio of regional and national clients.

Its latest new additions represent a significant increase in the firm’s capacity and capability which has also benefited from an investment in new AI software and a fully integrated practice management system.

Gregory Emms, director of Realty said: “The recruitment of Liz Rowen and her team will significantly improve Realty’s offering to new and existing clients. Realty’s strength and depth of knowledge now makes it one of the country’s leading property related debt collection practices. All of us look forward to working with Liz and her team to offer an exceptional service to our clients.”

Rowen said: “Having worked within the property management industry for over a decade, Realty Law was a natural fit for the team and I. In an industry that has faced rapid change, Realty’s focus on providing an excellent client service, together with its approachable ethos, aligned perfectly with the team’s values. We are all very excited to be able to expand the services that Realty will now be able to provide to clients and support the continued growth of the firm.”